Sewing machine motor speed controller assembly

ABSTRACT

A sewing machine motor speed controller assembly comprises a housing and a foot controller pivotably secured thereto for movement from a nested position against said housing to an extended position on a supporting surface. Components of a power supply for the sewing machine and selected electrical circuit components of a motor speed regulating system are mounted within said housing whereas at least one additional electric circuit component is supported within said foot controller, so that the housing will be dimensioned and weighted to prevent ready displacement of the assembly on said supporting surface.

[ Aug. 5, 1975 3,703,698 ll/l972 Nomura et 338/108 SEWING MACHINE MOTOR SPEED CONTROLLER ASSEMBLY Prinmry Examiner-L. T. Hix [75] lnvemor' Wayne Curl-en? Cranford Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Marshall J. Breen The Singer Company, New York. N .Y.

[7 3] Assignee:

[57] ABSTRACT A sewing machine motor speed controller assembly comprises a housing and a foot controller pivotably secured thereto for movement from a nested position Appl. No.: 457,157

against said housing to an extended position on a supporting surface. Components of a power supply for the sewing machine and selected electrical circuit components of a motor speed regulating system are mounted within said housing whereas at least one additional electric circuit component is supported within said foot controller, so that the housing will be dimensioned and weighted to prevent ready displacement of the assembly on said supporting surface.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,502,372 3/1950 Davidson 338/108 3 Claims, 4 Drawing g es PATENTEU AUG l975 SEWING MACHINE MOTOR SPEED CONTROLLER ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A variety of expedients havebeen heretofore devised to anchor a sewing machine speed regulating device in a position convenient for operator influence. With those speed regulating devices which have been mounted on the sewing machine or on the supporting table or cabinet therefor, a serious problem arises in the constant need for adjustment to suit the needs and preferences of different operators. With prior speed regulators which have been designed to be placed on the floor beneath a sewing machine supporting table cabinet or the like, a problem arises that the foot controller can slip out of convenient reach despite the many anti-friction expedients which have been proposed to alleviate such slippage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the increasing utilization of electrically operated devices and appurtenances for sewing machines it becomes necessary to associate with a sewing machine a power supply therefor which may include a power transformer, rectifier components, and the like. Be cause of weight and space requirements for such accessories, inclusion of a power supply within the sewing machine frame poses increasing problems.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel combination of a sewing machine speed regulating device together with an assembly of power supply components for the sewing machine which will solve not only the problem of convenient accommodation of the power supply components but will also solve'the problem of stablizing a foot operable speed controller which is simply placed on the floor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description of the invention.

According to the present invention there is provided a sewing machine motor speed controller assembly, comprising a housing having selected relatively heavy and space consuming electrical circuit components mounted therein and a foot controller for providing sewing machine speed regulation articulated with respect to said housing, said foot controller including a base shiftable to an extended operative position upon a supporting surface and a foot pedal pivotably mounted on said base, at least one electric circuit component of a motor speed regulating system being supported within said foot controller actuable by said foot pedal, said housing being thus dimensioned and weighted to prevent ready displacement of said foot controller from its extended position on said supporting surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order thatthe invention may be more fully comprehended it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I is a front perspective view of a sewing machine motor speed controller assembly embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the foot controller pivoted into its operative position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational cross-sectional view of the assembly taken along line AA of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a representative power supply and motor speed regulating system which can be incorporated in the assembly of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing there is shown a motor speed controller assembly 10 for the drive motor of a sewing machine (not shown). The assembly comprises a foot controller 14 and a housing 16. The upper exterior surface of the housing is provided with a handle 18 which may conveniently be of either the integral strap or hinged type. As shown in FIG. I the assembly may be easily transported as a unit and stored as such in the upright position depicted.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, the foot controller 14 is connected pivotably such as by means of a hinge pin 20 to-the housing 16. In the position depicted by FIGS. 2 and 3 the foot controller is in its operative position in which the foot pedal 22 is exposed upwardly. The foot pedal is pivotably mounted on base 23. An electric switch pedal, desirably a reverse speed pedal 24, is pivotable about a horizontally extending pin member 26 and is urged upwardly through an aperture 28 formed in the foot pedal into a normally nonactuated condition by means of a spring 30 which encircles stud 32 positioned beneath the underside of the pedal 24. Pin member 26 may also serve as thefulcrum for foot pedal 22 which is pivotable independently of reverse pedal 24. Spring means (not shown) are also provided beneath the foot pedal 22 for biasing the same upwardly into a normally non-actuated'condition.

As shown by the schematic circuit diagram of FIG. 4,

. a potentiometer 62 is mounted within the foot controller 14 and is actuable by depression of foot pedal 22. The potentiometer may be of the carbon pile or other suitable type and is one of several elements which constitute the speed regulating system for the drive motor of the sewing machine. If desired, other elements of the system may be housed within the foot controller.

Housing 16 comprises a base 36 and walls 37a, b and 0. Base 36 preferably has formed integrally therewith a plurality of upstanding bosses 38 adapted to have secured thereto a mounting plate 40 for the support within the housing of additional electrical components. In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention reference numeral 42 represents a transformer. It will, of course, be understood that specific components of the motor speed regulating system may be mounted within the housing and/or the foot controller depending upon the particular system to be utilized and the desire of the circuit designer. It is also to be understood that electrical components other than those which are part of the motor speed regulating system, and which are normally housed, within the sewing machine proper may be located within either housing 16 or foot controller 14. For example, the housing may be employed to mount selected components of a power supply for the sewing machine which are heavy and occupy substantial space so as to make it undesirable to locate such components in the frame of the machine. The housing may also be provided with bosses 44 which are adapted to receive one end of reinforcing studs 46 to impart additional rigidity to the housing. The housing is also given a plurality of support members 48 which extend below the outer surface of base 36 and preferably are provided with an exterior surface having a relatively high coefficient of friction so as to minimize displacement of the housing along the floor or other surface which supports same.

Wall 370 of the housing 16 is given a surface which is complementary to the upper surface of the foot controller 14 so that upon pivotal movement of either the housing or foot controller about hinge pin 20 the upper surface of the foot pedal 22 nests in close relationship to the wall 37c of the housing. An aperture 50 is provided in wall 370 dimensioned to receive the reverse speed pedal 24. Vent openings 52 are formed in the face of wall 37c to permit the dissipation of heat which may be generated by the electrical components located within the housing 16. It will be appreciated that the mating edges of wall 37c and the foot pedal 22 may be dimensioned, if desired, to effect a snug fit therebetween upon nesting of the foot controller so that the assembly may be transmitted as a unit. Alternatively, conventional latching means (not shown) may be arranged on the contiguous surfaces to insure attainment of the same result.

As depicted in FIG. 2 the housing 16 is furnished with electrical cords 54, 56 for connecting the components within the housing to a source of electric power and for connection with the sewing machine motor. It will be recognized that certain of the components within the housing 16 may be connected electrically to certain components which are housed within the foot controller 14.

FIG. 4 shows a presently preferred arrangement of motor speed regulating electrical circuit components within the controller assembly hereinbefore described. It will be seen that a transformer 42 is connected between the source of electric power and two legs of a bridge rectifier 60 whereas a potentiometer 62 is connected in known manner across the other legs of the bridge rectifier. A pair of capacitors 64, 66 are connected in parallel across the potentiometer leads to the bridge rectifier whereas a voltage regulator 68 is connected in series in one of the potentiometer leads to the bridge rectifier whereas a reversing switch 70 is connected in series in the other of such potentiometer leads. Physically, the reversing switch and potentiometer are preferably positioned within the foot controller 14 whereas the other electrical components are mounted within the housing 16. However, the invention is not limited, as previously stated, to the location of any particular components in either the housing 16 or the foot controller since the arrangement may vary at the discretion of the circuit designer. As a practical matter is has been found most convenient to locate at least the potentiometer and reversing switch within the foot controller although even such an arrangement may be altered whe e circumstances so dictate.

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be seen that there has been provided a unique combination of a sewing machine motor speed controller assembly and a power supply which (a) permits the relocation of selected electrical components of the sewing machine power supply and, where desired, of the motor speed regulating system from their conventional situ within the sewing machine proper to the remotely located controller assembly thereby enabling a reduction in the size of the sewing machine and (b) mechanically, and where desired electrically, links a pair of electrical component storage members, one of which is a sewing machine motor speed regulating device in the form of a foot controller, so as to obviate the commonly encountered difficulty of maintaining the foot controller in a fixed physical location during operation of the sewing machine.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention. what is claimed herein is:

l. A sewing machine motor speed controller assem bly comprising a housing having selected electrical circuit components mounted therein for operable connection with a sewing machine, said housing including means for readily detachably and operably connecting said housing to a sewing machine, a foot controller having motor regulating components mounted therein. said foot controller being connected with said housing for positioning said foot controller in a first operative position with said foot controller being disposed on a supporting surface, and for positioning said foot controller in a second inoperative position wherein said foot controller is nested against said housing to form 2 substantially integral and portable speed controller unit.

2. A sewing machine motor controller assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said foot controller is pivotably connected to said housing.

3. A sewing machine motor controller assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said foot controller includes a base member and a foot pedal pivotably connected to said base member, an electric switch pedal pivotably connected to said base member and projecting above the surface of said foot pedal, and said housing including an aperture in a wall thereof for receiving said electric switch pedal when said foot controller is in said second position. 

1. A sewing machine motor speed controller assembly comprising a housing having selected electrical circuit components mounted therein for operable conneCtion with a sewing machine, said housing including means for readily detachably and operably connecting said housing to a sewing machine, a foot controller having motor regulating components mounted therein, said foot controller being connected with said housing for positioning said foot controller in a first operative position with said foot controller being disposed on a supporting surface, and for positioning said foot controller in a second inoperative position wherein said foot controller is nested against said housing to form a substantially integral and portable speed controller unit.
 2. A sewing machine motor controller assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said foot controller is pivotably connected to said housing.
 3. A sewing machine motor controller assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said foot controller includes a base member and a foot pedal pivotably connected to said base member, an electric switch pedal pivotably connected to said base member and projecting above the surface of said foot pedal, and said housing including an aperture in a wall thereof for receiving said electric switch pedal when said foot controller is in said second position. 